Japan Panel Agrees on Need to Revise Retrial System
Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese government advisory panel held its first meeting Monday to review the country's retrial system, following the acquittal of Iwao Hakamata after decades on death row.
Members of a subcommittee under the Legislative Council agreed on the need for law revisions and decided to hear opinions from former prosecutors and judges, as well as lawyers who have handled past cases of convicts acquitted in retrials.
The subcommittee has 14 members, including lawyer Hiroaki Murayama, who, as presiding judge in 2014, led Shizuoka District Court's decision to hold a retrial of Hakamata, 89, over the 1966 murder of a family in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan.
Public calls for a review of the retrial system, which has not been revised since the country's criminal procedure law was established in 1948, have been growing since Hakamata's acquittal last year.
Under the current law, the retrial process and the criteria and procedures for disclosing evidence held by investigative agencies are not clarified, leading to criticism of the retrial system as "the door that never opens."
(2025/04/21-21:18)
To read a full story, please click here to find out how to subscribe.
NATIONAL
-
04/25 09:53 Japan's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Fall to Lowest in FY 2023 - 04/25 08:07 U.S. Does Not Seek Currency Targets in Talks with Japan
- 04/24 23:30 Japan PM Ishiba Holds Phone Talks with India's Modi
-
04/24 22:28 Japan to Cooperate over Costa Rica's CPTPP Membership Bid - 04/24 22:06 (Update) Japan Lower House Passes AI Promotion Bill
- 04/24 21:51 Extracted N-Fuel Debris from TEPCO Plant Weighs 0.2 Gram
- 04/24 21:30 Japan, Luxembourg Leaders Agree to Step Up Cooperation
- 04/24 21:14 Masaaki Koyama, "Pitching Precision Machine," Dies at 90
- 04/24 20:24 Osaka Casino Project Breaks Ground, Aiming for 2030 Opening
- 04/24 19:42 All 4 Giant Pandas at Western Japan Zoo to Be Sent to China
- 04/24 19:12 (Update) Japan Govt Ordered to Pay over Sexual Assault by Ex-Lawmaker Aide
- 04/24 19:07 LDP Plans to Submit Pension Reform Bill in Mid-May
- 04/24 18:43 2 Ruled Guilty of Injuring Girl with Illegally Modified Vehicle
- 04/24 18:02 TSE to Ask Firms to Lower Minimum Trading Unit to 100,000 Yen
- 04/24 17:48 Japan Govt Spokesman Raps Sexual Assaults by U.S. Marines
- 04/24 17:10 Japan Govt Ordered to Pay over Sexual Assault by Ex-Lawmaker Aide
- 04/24 16:39 Narita Airport Reports 16 Pct Passenger Increase
- 04/24 14:45 Japan, U.S. to Hold 2nd Round of Tariff Talks on Wednesday
- 04/24 13:37 Japan Lower House Passes AI Promotion Bill
- 04/24 13:32 Japan to Introduce "Blue Ticket" Fines for Cyclists in April 2026
- 04/24 12:19 INTERVIEW: World Bank Exec Urges Developing Countries to Expand Trade
- 04/24 09:56 U.S., Japan Not to Discuss Currency Targets: Bessent
- 04/23 23:44 High Levels of PFAS Found in Blood of Osaka Factory Workers
- 04/23 22:51 Japan, Switzerland to Work for Int'l Meeting on Ukraine Mines
- 04/23 22:11 Japan Plans to Send Foreign Minister to Pope's Funeral
- 04/23 22:05 U.S. Marines Suspected of Sexually Assaulting Women in Okinawa
- 04/23 21:58 Improper Checks on Drivers Found at 75 Pct of Japan Post Offices
- 04/23 21:19 Japan to Introduce Own ESTA System in FY 2028
- 04/23 21:02 Japan to Increase Startups from "Kosen" Tech Colleges
- 04/23 20:43 Hokkaido Fisher to Hold Memorial Service for Tour Boat Accident Victims
- 04/23 20:29 Families Mourn Victims on 3rd Anniv. of Hokkaido Boat Sinking
- 04/23 19:43 Japan PM Ishiba Vows to Protect Free Trade System
- 04/23 19:41 Final H-2A Rocket to Be Launched on June 24
- 04/23 19:16 Japan Emperor, Empress Mourn Death of Pope Francis
- 04/23 18:55 Japan Health Insurance Premium Rate to Hit Record High
- 04/23 18:44 Osaka Expo Reaches 1 M. Visitors
- 04/23 18:32 Japan's Saito, China's No. 4 Confirm Importance of Free Trade
- 04/23 17:15 ADB Chief Kanda Urges Maintaining Policies amid Uncertainty
- 04/23 15:39 Japan Team Treats Chronic Kidney Disease with iPS Cells in Mice
- 04/23 13:57 Fuel Debris Collected Again at Fukushima N-Plant
- 04/23 13:45 Japan PM Ishiba Meets with Amazon Executive
- 04/23 13:22 Japan Begins to Take Bids in 3rd Auction of Stockpiled Rice
- 04/23 12:54 Ishiba to Visit Vietnam, Philippines Starting on Sunday
- 04/23 12:39 Japan Mulling Boosting Rice Imports for U.S. Tariff Talks
- 04/23 08:00 Japan Mulling Expanding U.S. LNG Imports for Tariff Talks
- 04/22 23:58 Komeito Leader Saito Makes 1st Visit to China
- 04/22 22:16 IMF Slashes 2025 Global Growth Forecast to 2.8 Pct
- 04/22 21:32 (Update) Japan Emperor, Empress Host Spring Garden Party
- 04/22 20:57 Sendai to Host U.N. Disaster Reduction Conference in 2027
- 04/22 19:02 TSE Proposes 10 B. Yen Market Cap for Growth Section
- 04/22 18:58 Japan Govt to Launch Program to Cut Down Gasoline Prices by 10 Yen
- 04/22 18:13 Tokyo Police Arrest 3 with Possible Links with Serial Robberies
- 04/22 18:06 Japan Reports 1st Tally of Acute Respiratory Infection Cases
- 04/22 17:55 (Update) New U.S. Envoy Glass Wants to Meet Japanese Abductees' Families
- 04/22 13:56 Japan's SDF Ends Disaster Relief Operations in Myanmar
- 04/22 13:33 70 Japanese Lawmakers Visit Yasukuni Shrine
- 04/22 12:50 PM Ishiba Meets with New U.S. Envoy to Japan Glass
- 04/22 11:28 Japan Police Eyeing Fictitious Accounts for Fraud Probes
- 04/21 22:19 China Executes Man for 2024 Fatal Stabbing of Japanese Boy
- 04/21 21:56 Pope Francis, Who Called for Nuke Abolition from Japan, Dies
- 04/21 21:18 Japan Panel Agrees on Need to Revise Retrial System
- 04/21 20:39 Rice Prices at Supermarkets Hit Another Record High
- 04/21 20:09 (Update) Court Orders Tokyo to Find Birth Parents of Man Switched as Newborn
- 04/21 19:16 Japan, Dutch Leaders Agree to Strengthen Cooperation
- 04/21 18:25 New Method Developed to Make Cultured Meat Thicker
- 04/21 17:27 No Decision to Resume Kickbacks by Abe Faction Execs: Seko
- 04/21 17:07 (Update) Trump Raps "Nontariff Cheating" before Japan-U.S. Talks
- 04/21 16:26 Court Orders Tokyo to Find Birth Parents of Man Switched as Newborn
- 04/21 16:17 Aichi Man Rearrested, Newly Charged with Murder
- 04/21 15:08 Japanese Mother Partially Acquitted over Abuse of Daughter
- 04/21 13:52 Japan PM Ishiba Vows Aid for Small Biz over U.S. Tariffs
- 04/21 13:40 Trump Raps "Nontariff Cheating" before Japan-U.S. Talks
- 04/21 11:53 (Update 2) Ishiba Makes Ritual Offering at Yasukuni Shrine
- 04/21 10:05 (Update) Ishiba Makes Ritual Offering at Yasukuni Shrine
- 04/21 09:21 Ishiba Makes Ritual Offering at Yasukuni Shrine
- 04/20 20:30 Japanese Retailers Trying to Overcome Soaring Rice Prices
- 04/20 15:54 No Concession over Food Safety in Japan-U.S. Talks: Ishiba
- 04/20 14:43 Politician Ishimaru's Party to Field 10 Upper House Candidates
- 04/20 11:11 L.A. Dodgers Star Ohtani, Wife Welcome 1st Child
- 04/20 00:10 Osaka Expo Faces Dual Task of Drawing Visitors, Managing Crowds
- 04/19 22:03 Digitalized Osaka Expo Troubling Elderly Visitors
- 04/19 20:40 Protesters March in Tokyo for WWII Relief for Civilians, Others
- 04/19 19:42 (Update) 2 MSDF Ships Visit China-Linked Cambodian Naval Base
- 04/19 18:57 INTERVIEW: Ex-Negotiator Expects Some Tariff Deal by June
- 04/19 17:54 Tokyo Car Crash Victims Remembered 6 Years On
- 04/19 17:12 MSDF Ships Make Port Call at China-Linked Cambodian Naval Base
- 04/19 15:06 Japanese Soft Doughnuts to Debut in New York
- 04/19 13:56 Onishi Becomes 3rd Japanese Astronaut to Command ISS
- 04/19 13:28 Japan to Start This Year's Special Heat Stroke Alert System Wed.
- 04/19 12:29 Japan, U.S. Finance Ministers Seen Holding Meeting Thurs.
- 04/18 23:56 (Update) U.S. in Hurry to Strike Deal: Japan's Tariff Negotiator
- 04/18 21:56 Ishiba Spurs Preparations for Next Tariff Talks with U.S.
- 04/18 21:45 Russia to Hold Shooting Drill near Disputed Pacific Islands
- 04/18 21:15 Strong Earthquake Strikes Nagano in Central Japan
- 04/18 21:13 (Update) Japan Rice Price to Wholesalers Posts 1st Fall in 8 Months
- 04/18 21:00 New U.S. Ambassador Glass Arrives in Japan
- 04/18 20:27 Japan's Territory Museum Reopens
- 04/18 20:16 Winter Arctic Sea Ice Area Hits Record Low: Japan Data
- 04/18 19:06 1,454 Stock Transactions via Hacked Accounts Found in Japan
- 04/18 19:02 Japan's Tariff Negotiator Vows Utmost Effort on Return from U.S.
- 04/18 17:54 Once-White Knight Kitao Turns on Fuji Group 20 Years Later
- 04/18 17:48 Ishiba Vows Utmost Effort for Early Conclusion of Japan-U.S. Tariff Talks
- 04/18 17:40 "Miss Sake India" Contest Held in New Delhi
- 04/18 17:29 Japan Rice Price to Wholesalers Drops in March
- 04/18 16:33 Ishiba Not to Visit Yasukuni Shrine during Spring Festival
- 04/18 15:20 Japan Core Consumer Prices Up 2.7 Pct in FY 2024
- 04/18 15:04 Japan Enacts Bill to Better Protect Kids from Abuse
- 04/18 14:56 Japan Upper House Begins Debates on Active Cyberdefense Bill
- 04/18 14:00 Japan Enacts Bill to Allow Shooting of Urban Bears
- 04/18 12:27 Japan to Start Retrial System Review Discussions Mon.
